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NASCAR looking at mandatory concussion protocols in 2014

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Reacting to understandable red flags about driver safety, NASCAR is expected to require baseline concussion tests in time for the 2014 season.

It’s a no-brainer — no pun intended — in a sport where things get very bumpy and the importance of keeping drivers healthy and running at full speed is critical.

The first steps will start soon when drivers will be urged to go in for testing before the start of the season, which kicks off Sunday with the Daytona 500.

“We’ve encouraged them all to get that, with the emphasis that in 2014 that almost likely will be mandated for all of them,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing operations. “‘We’re in the process of doing that right now. We’re educating them on what it is, how it works, and we’ll come back with that for the 2014 preseason.”

The ImPACT test is fairly standard in many pro leagues, including the NFL. It involves a computer-based series of quick quizzes involving words, colors and pictures. Scores are determined by how quickly and accurately questions are answered.

The discussion for improving concussion protocols amped up last season after Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered a concussion while crashing during a tire test at Kansas on Aug. 29 and then basically tried to shake it off and continue driving. He later took another hit in Talladega as part of a 25-car pileup on the last restart, prompting him to seek medical consultation.

Doctors then shut him down for the next two races.

“Yeah, it makes perfect sense to make it mandatory,” Earnhardt said during Media Day. “I think it was nice of them to look into ways they could protect us from ourselves really. The test is really simple and it’s pretty straightforward. You sit at a computer for about 30 minutes answering a series of questions. It tests short-term and long-term memory, a lot of different variables, a lot of different things of the mechanics of the brain, what the brain does.

“It sort of tests how competent you are through a series of different things. It’s really, really hard, a hard test. Even if you don’t have a concussion, taking the test can be difficult. But you take the test to get a baseline because everybody is different.”

“Well, let’s say I tripped on a banana peel and broke my thumb,” he said. “If I want to drive a race car with a broken thumb, I want to drive a race car. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to.

“Where do you draw the line on things? We’re talking about a head injury _ that’s different from another physical thing, like you know. That’s all I’m saying. I can’t help that. I’m old-school. It’s just what it is. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a concussion. I’ve never been knocked out.”

Unfortunately for Martin, resistance is futile. And that’s a good thing for the safety of the sport.